Door lock



K. P. SMITH Jan. 25, 1955 DOOR LOCK 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 27, 1951 INVENTOR. /(enr 7eZ/7 P Sm/Zh BY l A TTOF/Vm' K. F. SMITH DOOR LOCK Jan. 25, 1955 m Rim m .c M

2 F W n e K BY fin,

, IN!" I United States Patent C DOOR LOCK Kenneth P. Smith, Huntington Woods, Mich., assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware This invention relates to a door lock and more particularly to a door lock for an automobile door.

It is. old in the art to house a pivoted latch bolt within the hollow wedge member of an automobile door dovetail or registering device and to mount this combination dovetail wedge and latch bolt on the outer face of the door lock pillar for interengagement with a combination dovetail socket and lock striker mounted on the face of the body lock pillar, see Carrier 1,597,510.

It is an object of this invention to improve upon the general type of lock shown in the Carrier patent so that the latch bolt can be easily retracted or disengaged from its keeper by a minimum of pressure (such as is used with a push button actuated lock) even with the high sealing pressures used in sealing the present'day automobile doors against the weather.

This invention also contemplates a lock of the type wherein the bolt is pivoted upon the outside face of the door lock pillar which can be locked from without the vehicle body withoutth'e use of a key under certain conditions of operation and which will automatically unlock upon closing the door if these conditions are not met.

It is also an object of this'inventionto produce a lock which is of simple structure and efficient in operation.

Fig. 1 is an elevation of the lock, which is the subject of this invention, as viewed from the inside of the door.

Fig. 2 is a section taken along the line22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an elevation similar to Fig. 1 but showing the position of the lock parts while the door is being locked without the use of the key.

Fig. 4 is a section along the-line 44'of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a section alongthe line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a section along the line 66 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view along the line 7--7' of Fig. 4.

Fig. 8 is a detail view.

As shown in Fig. 1, the various elements of the lock are mounted upon a lock frame or plate 1. Frame 1 is mounted along the inner face of the inside door panel (not shown) and is provided with a portion 2 which extends along the inner face of the door lock pillar (not shown). The overlap flange of' the door is designated 3. A combination bolt housing and wedge member 4 is fixed upon the frame portion 2. A bolt 5 is pivoted within housing 4 upon a stud 6 which is riveted to the frame portion 2 as at 7 and to the housing 4 as at 8, as shown in Fig. 6. Bolt 5 is provided with an offset extension or tail 9 which is provided with a socket portion 10 positioned inwardly of the lock frame portion 1. The bolt head is designated 11 and is adapted to interengage with either the safety step 12 or the final step 13 of the lock keeper 14 which forms the lower member of the dovetail socket. The upper member of the dovetail socket is designated 15 and is provided with a conventional sliding shoe 16 backed up by a compression spring 17. Dovetail socket 14, 15, will be mounted upon the body lock pillar (not shown)- Lock frame portion 1*, Fig. 6, is positioned at approximately right angles to frame portion '2.

For retracting bolt 5 there is provided a remote lever 18 pivoted upon frame 1 by means of a stud 19 which is riveted to frame 1 as at 20 (Fig. 6). Stud 19 is provided with a head 21 upon which is mounted a coil spring 22. One arm 23 of the spring is interengaged with a lug 24 struck out of frame 1 and the other arm 25 of spring 22 is interengaged with a lug 26 turned out of lever 18. Spring 22 at all times acts through lug 26 to bias or apply torque to lever 18 i a counterclockwise direction, Fig. 1. Lever 18 is provided with a pair of fingers 27 which engage on opposite sides of bolt tail 9 and form a socket therefor. Spring 22 acts at alltimes through lever 18, fingers 27 on bolt extension 9 to bias bolt 5 clockwise or in a keeper engaging direction, as viewed in Fig. 2. Lever 18 can be actuated from within the vehicle by means of a draft link 28 which may be connected to any conventional inside remote crank handle.

For retracting the bolt 5 from without the door there is provided a channel guide member 30 provided with an arm 31 and pivoted upon the lock frame 1 by rivet 32. A tumbler 33 is pivoted upon channel guide 30 by means of pin 34. An intermittent lever 35 is pivoted to one arm of tumbler 33 by means of pin 36 and the other end 37 of intermittent lever 35 pivotally interengages extension 9 in socket 10. The intermittent lever 35 is guided within the side walls of channel guide 40 by means of bumps 38 so-that intermittent lever 35 can slide longitudinally within channel guide 30 and can also pivot or swivel with channel guide 30about rivet 32. Channel guide 3Gcan be pivoted about pin 32 from within the vehicle'body by means of a lever 39 pivoted to frame 1 by rivet 4t) and pivotally connected to arm 31 by rivet 41. The outer end of lever 39 is pivotally connected to the lower-end 42 of a push and pull rod 43', the upper end of which is provided with a button 44 projecting through an opening in the garnish molding 45 which extends around the window opening. An overcenter spring 46 acts upon lever 39 to yieldably hold it in either its unlocked position, Fig. 1', or its locked position, Fig. 3, that is. when the push button 44 is raised, the lock is unlocked, and when it is lowered, the lock is locked.

A pawl 47 is journalled in the lock frame 1 and is provided with a. pair of spaced fingers 48 which straddle aprojection- 49 on channel guide 30 and form a lost motion connection therewith so that pawl 47 can be rotated in one direction to swing guide 30 and intermittent lever- 35 to locked position, Fig.- 3, or pawl 47 can-be rotated inthe opposite direction to swing guide 30 andintermittent lever 35 into unlocked position, full line showing Fig. l. Pawl 47 can be rotated from the outside of the; door by means of a key acting through a lock cylinder and combination torque rod and plunger 50. Plunger 50 can be pushed to the left, Fig. 4, to pivot tumbler 33 against spring 51 to thereby project intermittent lever 35 downwardly, as viewed in Fig. 4. Fingers 48 are spacedapart sufiiciently so as to not interfere with the pivotal movement of guide 30 when actuated by lever 39 (Fig. 7). A cylinder lock and push; button for actuating member 50-forms no part of this-invention and are shown in the copending application of James D. Leslie and Clyde H. Schamel, Serial No. 788,534, filed November 28, 1947, now Patent No. 2,641,495 dated June 9, 1953.

Intermittent lever 35 is provided with a projection 52 which extends inwardly from lever 35 toward frame 1. Projection 52 is turned parallel to frame 1 as at 53 to provide a sliding bearing for intermittent lever on frame 1. When lever 35 is pivoted to the position shown in Fig. 3 so that the lower end 37 is disengaged from socket 10. then flange 153 on bolt extension 9 overlies the lower end 37 of lever 35 and positively bars lever 35 from swinging outwardly or clockwise, Fig. 4, from between the side walls of channel guide 30. Spring 51 acts between tumbler 33 and intermittent lever 35 not only to hold intermittent lever 35 downwardly within channel guide 30 but also to yieldably bias or hold tumbler 33 against pawl 47 and thus yieldably maintain lever 35 iii-retracted position, Fig. 1.

The operation of the lock is as follows: Bolt 11 can be retracted or disengaged from keeper 14 by swinging remote lever 18clockwise, Fig. 1. Lever 18 can be swung clockwise at any time from within the body by drawing draft link 28- to the left, Fig. 1. If intermittent lever 35 is interengaged with socket 10, Figs. 1 and 4, then downward movement of lever 35 will act directly upon extension f bolt 5 to pivot the same counterclockwise, Fig. 2, and disengage the bolt from keeper 14. Downward movement of lever 35 is effected by swinging tumbler 33 counterclockwise, Fig. 4, by any suitable means such as by pushing to the left on push rod 50.

To lock the lock or render the intermittent lever 35 ineffective to retract the bolt, then intermittent lever 35 is swung to the left, dotted line position Fig. 1, either by pushing the push button 44 down to the position shown in Fig. 3 or by rotation of tumbler 47. When lever 35 is in the position shown in Fig. 3, then the lever is disengaged from socket and downward movement of lever 35 simply causes it to slide freely by and to one side of socket 10 without in any wise actuating bolt arm 9.

If lever 35 is swung to locked position or to the left of socket 10, dotted line showing Fig. 1, then upon closing the door, bolt tooth 11 will ride up over the striker 14 cans ing the bolt to pivot counterclockwise, Fig. 2, thereby swinging lever 18 clockwise from the position shown in Fig. 1 to that shown in Fig. 3, and during such clockwise swinging the head 54 of lever 18 engages projection 52 on lever 35 and cams or swings lever 35 from the locked or freewheeling position, dotted line showing Fig. 1, to the unlocked or effective position, full line showing Fig. 1, with the lower end of the lever 37 seated in socket 10.

To lock the door without a key, intermittent lever 35 is swung to the locked position, Fig. 3, while the door is open and lever 35 is slid downwardly by pushing in on rod 50 so that cam lug 52 is below and clear of cam head 54 of lever 18 and then, while holding lever 35 in this position (by pushing in on the outside push button or rod 50), the door is closed and as the bolt 11 rides up over the striker plate, lever 18 is pivoted into and out of the position shown in Fig. 3, but since cam head 54 clears cam ing 52, lever 35 remains in locked or free-wheeling position where it is ineffective to retract the bolt.

I claim:

1. In a look, a frame, a bolt pivoted on said frame and provided with a tail portion, a socket on said tail portion, a guide flange on said tail portion extending generally parallel to a portion of the lock frame, a channel guide pivoted on said portion of said frame, a retractor member shiftably mounted on said channel guide for movement lengthwise thereof, a lever pivotally supported on said channel guide on an axis substantially perpendicular to the axis of pivoting of said channel guide, said lever being also pivotally connected to said retractor member on an axis substantially perpendicular to the axis of pivoting of said channel guide such that said retractor is also shiftable lengthwise of said channel guide, said retractor being swingable with said channel guide into operative position and into inoperative position with respect to said socket, said retractor in operative position overlying said socket and in inoperative position being offset from said socket, means including said lever for shifting said retractor lengthwise of said channel guide while in operative position whereby said retractor engages the bolt tail in said socket and retracts the bolt, said retractor when in inoperative position being disengaged and offset laterally from said socket, the flange on said bolt tail overlying the end of said retractor and retaining the same in a plane aligned with said socket whereby when the retractor is shifted from inoperative to operative position the end of the retractor will overlie the socket on said bolt tail.

2. In a lock, a frame, a bolt pivoted on said frame, said bolt having a tail portion provided with a socket, a retractor, a support on which said retractor is mounted, said support being pivoted on said frame such that the support and the retractor can be pivoted as a unit on said frame to an operative position and to an inoperative position with respect to said socket, said retractor having a portion aligned with said socket in operative position and offset from said socket in inoperative position, said support having means thereon forming a guideway for said retractor, said guideway extending transversely of the axis of pivoting of said support and extending generally towards said socket in said operative position of said support, said retractor being shiftably mounted in said guideway for movement lengthwise thereof along a path extending transversely of the axis of pivoting of said support, means for pivoting said support to and from said operative position and means for shifting said retractor in said guideway whereby when said support and retractor are in said operative position and said retractor is shifted in said guideway, said retractor is brought into operative 4 engagement with said socket to pivot said bolt to released position and when said support and said retractor are in said inoperative position, shifting of said retractor in said guideway is ineffective to retract said bolt.

3. The combination set forth in claim 2 wherein said tail portion is provided with a guide flange which extends generally parallel to the plane of the portion of said frame on which said support is pivoted, the portion of said retractor which is engageable in said socket being disposed in a plane intermediate said frame and said guide flange, said guide flange being of suflicient lateral extent to overlie said portion of said retractor when the retractor is in the operative and the inoperative positions.

4. The combination called for in claim 2 including a lever having a pivotal connection with said retractor and another pivotal connection with said support, said means for shifting said retractor lengthwise of said guideway including said lever and including a second member positioned to engage said lever when actuated.

5. The combination set forth in claim 4 wherein said last mentioned lever is positioned on said support to be engaged by said second member for shifting said retractor when the retractor is in either the operative or the inoperative position.

6. In a lock, a frame, a bolt pivoted on said frame, said bolt having a tail portion provided with a socket, a retractor, a support on which said retractor is mounted, said support being pivoted on said frame such that the support and the retractor can be pivoted as a unit on said frame to an operative position and to an inoperative po sition with respect to said socket, said retractor having a portion aligned with said socket in operative position and offset from said socket in inoperative position, said support having means thereon forming a guideway for said retractor, said guideway extending transversely of the axis of pivoting of said support and extending generally towards said socket in said operative position of said support, said retractor being shiftably mounted in said guideway for movement lengthwise thereof along a path extending transversely of the axis of pivoting of said support, means for pivoting said support to and from said operative position and means for shifting said retractor in said guideway whereby when said support and retractor are in said operative position and said retractor is shifted in said guideway, said retractor is brought into operative engagement with said socket to pivot said bolt to released position and when said support and said retractor are in said inoperative position, shifting of said retractor in said guideway is ineffective to retract said bolt, a lever pivoted on said frame and operatively connected with said bolt such that pivoting of either the lever or the bolt acts through said operative connection to pivot the other, said lever having a cam thereon which is positioned to engage said retractor and thereby pivot the retractor and said support to said operative position when said lever is pivoted in bolt-retracting direction.

7. The lock defined in claim 6 including a cam surface on said retractor positioned to be contacted by the cam on said lever when the lever is pivoted to cam the retractor from inoperative to operative position, said cam surface on said retractor, when the retractor is shifted to bolt retracting position on said support, being shifted to a position out of the path of travel of the cam on said lever whereby the lever is then ineffective to return the retractor from' inoperative to operative position.

8. The lock defined in claim 7 wherein the connection between the said lever and bolt consists of a pair of fingers on said lever which engage opposite sides of said tail on said bolt.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,204,208 Craig June 11, 1940 2,249,018 Marple July 15, 1941 2,569,042 Endter Sept. 25, 1951 2,569,043 Endter Sept. 25, 1951 2,569,046 Endter Sept. 25, 1951 

